California hip hop group teased crowd and left it wanting more
The scene at the Fox Theatre Sunday night contrasted with that of a usual Sunday night in Boulder. Packs of students filled the venue to watch the Bay Area-based hip-hop crew, Living Legends. From the first song through the encore, Living Legends kept the fans moving their bodies and screaming for more.
Living Legends is comprised of rappers from four separate outfits: Mystik Journeyman, 3 Melancholy Gypsys (3MG), The CMA, and G & E.
The Legends started their set with a 3MG solo, performing the song “2010.” It wasn’t until rapper Aesop went on the stage during the fourth song that the whole crew was present. His arrival was almost trivial. By the time he sauntered onto the stage, the Legends had already injected an adrenaline shot of intensity into the enthusiastic crowd.
The Legends kept their fans engaged throughout the show by continuously referencing Boulder during and between songs. Each mention of the college town was returned with raucous cheers from the crowd.
At one point, the MCs challenged the audience, questioning whether they were actually in the notoriously rowdy city.
“Are we really in Boulder?” asked an MC, “Because I thought that in this town, you guys were supposed to be more hyped than we are to be here.” The confrontation only pushed the crowd to yell even louder for the group on stage.
During the middle of their set, one of the MCs brought out a box full of the Legends’ new album, “Legendary Music, Volume 1,” and teased the audience by pretending to throw them into the crowd. It wasn’t until the crew announced that they would be performing some of their new songs that they actually threw the CDs into the sea of outstretched arms below.
The Legends closed the set with one of their slower songs. The song featured the crew taking turns standing in frozen poses while one MC rapped alone.
Despite being met with the loudest cheers of the night after the song, the MCs again taunted the crowd by saying, “I think we should go home. You guys sound like you’ve had enough.”
As with the previous confrontation, this only prompted the audience to turn up the intensity. The crowd screamed constantly for almost five minutes until the Legends returned on stage for an encore.
The crew performed two more songs before they ended the night by repeatedly questioning the crowd, “Is this Denver, or is this Boulder?” Impassioned to represent their home, the crowd fervently shouted “Boulder” after each question.
Black Pegasus, a Colorado native, and the California-based MCs, Instant Messengers, opened for the Legends. Though both acts succeeded in moving the crowd, it was the Living Legends who sent everyone home with hoarse voices and aching feet, still hungry for more.
